Honorable Duty shows will to win in $75,000 Tenacious S.

Honorable Duty’s game run through the Fair Grounds’ stretch earned the 4-year-old son of Distorted Humor his first stakes win in Saturday’s $75,000 Tenacious S.

Breaking alertly from the inside post in the field of nine, Honorable Duty had the lead going into the first turn, but jockey James Graham conceded the top spot to Financial Modeling. The new leader took the field through a half-mile in :47.78 seconds, with Honorable Duty a length back in second.

Around the far turn, Honorable Duty was passed by a handful of horses, and it wasn’t until Graham found a seam in the two path with about a furlong to run that he made the lead, rallying to defeat Raagheb by nearly a length in 1:42.37 for the one mile and 70 yards on a fast main track.

“(Trainer) Brendan (Walsh) told me just keep out of his way as much as you can,” Graham said. “He finished off pretty well.” 

Honorable Duty upped his record to 4-2-1 in 10 starts and has earned $186,276 for DARRS, Inc.

The winner was bred by Juddmonte Farms and is out of the unraced A.P. Indy mare Mesmeric, a daughter of Grade 1 winner Toussaud and sister to Grade 1 winners Empire Maker, Chester House, Honest Lady and Chiselling.

Distorted Humor, who will stand the 2017 season at WinStar Farm for a fee of $80,000 stands and nurses, has accounted for 2016 stakes winners such as Joking in the Vosburgh S. (G1) and Ironicus (G1) in the Fort Marcy S. (G3).